A Time for Family
by Ruby Feathers
Summary: Audrey manages to get the Potter-Weasley family together for their very first Thanksgiving.


"Thanksgiving? What a _fake _holiday," Percy declares, and Audrey rolls her eyes because her husband has always been against things that he didn't think up himself, and it's actually quite endearing.

"Perce, give it a try. It'll remind me of home." She gives him a look that he hasn't been able to resist ever since they were silly, reckless twenty-somethings, and he swallows, as if it physically pains him, and agrees.

* * *

Percy cooks all day on Thursday with Audrey's guidance, because he has always been the best cook in the family, and he still is even when Audrey forbids him to use magic for this meal because it's _tradition_. He agrees eventually (he always does), but he grumbles about it far more than it's worth (he always does that too).

He stops grumbling once Audrey lets him steal a kiss when the kids are upstairs doing who-knows-what and the world stops for just a second. On a whim, they do a ridiculous waltz around the house, grinning like they haven't a care in the world, until Molly comes down the stairs, smiling teasingly, and she asks them just what they _think_ they're doing. Percy looks embarrassed until Audrey forces Molly into joining their silly dance and then Lucy joins and they spend almost an hour dancing and laughing and having fun that they haven't in a while.

"See," says cheery and red-faced Audrey to Percy, "this is why I _love_ Thanksgiving." Afterward, Percy claims the dance only wasted time but she knows that he loved it because for a full twenty four hours after that he doesn't mention work or politics or the Ministry even once.

* * *

It's quite a feat to get all the Potter-Weasleys together, but (even if they have to ask for permission to Floo home from Hogwarts) somehow they end up under one roof, crammed into Percy and Audrey's living room because they all won't fit anywhere else. Ron, Bill, Charlie, and the kids laze on the floor while the rest of the family are on couches or armchairs. Far from a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but definitely Audrey's favorite.

Percy stops Audrey before she goes inside and he warns her, "Be ready for destruction. All the Weasleys under one roof is never good." She laughs, saying she'll take her chances as he tuts and frets that this wasn't a good idea. Audrey teasingly asks him if he's sure he's a Gryffindor (even though she has never quite gotten the concept or importance of houses), grabs his hand, and leads him inside.

They're expecting her to say something, she realizes as the whole family falls silent and stares at her. "Well," she starts, with her curious American matter-of-fact way of speaking, "Thanksgiving is an American holiday and one that I love because it's fun and it means getting family together. But the main part of Thanksgiving is, well, giving thanks."

She sits down on the floor and grabs her glass of wine and says, "I'm thankful that I have such a wonderful family to spend my Thanksgiving with."

Her words set off a chain, as if she has lit a fire that slowly spreads around the room. Percy, beside her, who has never quite gotten used to having his family back ever since he left them, is thankful for his family's love and acceptance of him. Molly, eleven years old, eyes bright and filled with all the magic she's learning, is thankful for Hogwarts, and shy nine year old Lucy who dreams big is thankful for quiet nights for playing piano.

Teddy, gangly and funny and fifteen years old, grins and says he's thankful for sleep and weekends, which makes all the adults laugh.

Harry comes next, all grown up ever since Ginny taught him how to smile again, and he's thankful for all the love and support from every single family member and from everyone who isn't here with them today. Ginny, still fiery and fierce, is thankful that Albus and Lily aren't nearly as destructive as James was, a comment which almost starts a riot in the living room. Lily, who hides her mischief behind innocent brown eyes, is thankful for her mum and dad, which makes everyone sigh with adoration. James, who reminds everyone of those lost without even meaning to, says he's thankful for Quidditch, and Albus, slowly clambering out of the shadow of his namesakes, says he's thankful for books, as they always keep him company when his siblings are being idiots, as they often are.

Fleur, whose bravery shows even more as a mother, is thankful that her family are all safe and happy and together, a comment that makes Ginny think that maybe she can like Fleur just for one night. Bill, good-natured and not changed a bit, is thankful for meat, which makes everyone laugh as Teddy high-fives him. Louis comes next, a pale shadow beside his vibrant sisters but with a magic all his own, and says that he's thankful for seashells and sand castles. Victoire, who still doesn't understand why everybody cries on her birthday, glances at Teddy as she says she is thankful for 'cool Muggle music', and Dominique, pretty and precocious, is thankful for summer time.

Charlie, never lonely with a dragon nearby, says he is thankful for all the interesting magical creatures out there, which makes several of the children plead for stories. Molly, now Grandma Weasley, who the children see as a kind of smiling, benevolent food deity, is thankful to Audrey for getting her family together and Arthur, who never lost his curiosity even in old age, is thankful for Muggles, because really, they have the most _interesting_ contraptions!

George comes next, not quite whole without Fred but still very happy, and is thankful for pranks and mischievous children, which makes James and Fred giggle with delight, and tall, formidable Angelina, stubborn enough to painstakingly put his heart back together, is thankful for strange American holiday traditions that are actually quite fun. Fred, the inventor and visionary, is thankful that he was sorted into Gryffindor, the house of the brave, which makes Teddy scowl, and Roxanne is thankful for her cat because she desperately wants to say something different from everyone else, only she can't think up anything better.

Hermione, who has never tired of working to make things better, says she is thankful for everyone who gave their lives in the war, which elicits a solemn silence, and Ron, who never quite grew out of his tactlessness, is sarcastically thankful to Audrey for dragging him to a family reunion. Rose, already self-important and already with a burning desire to be _better_ than everyone, is thankful for textbooks, because she really would be lost without them. Finally, little Hugo, the baby, who's still not old enough to know sadness or stress, is thankful his name isn't Albus Severus, which makes everyone laugh as Albus and Harry both blush.

There's a comfortable quiet after Hugo is done, broken only when Teddy jokingly asks Audrey, "So, is the food coming any time soon or are we done?" The golden silence is broken with a roar of laughter, as murmurs of conversation and shrieks of delight envelop the living room once more.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Wow! That was a lot of fun to write. Anyway, seeing as this is kind of my first fanfiction, I'd love for you to review, favorite, etc.! Constructive criticism is very welcome. Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
